German design studio ett la benn is well-known for transforming innovative ideas into reality.  This year, at Milan’s Salone del Mobile at Ventura Lambrate ett la benn participated at the exhibition POETRY HAPPENS with a set of biodegradable cellulose vases, pots and pendant lights.
 

The biodegradable hand-made ‘kami’ collection of pots, vases and pendant lights encourages a new approach in eco-friendly, sustainable lifestyle products.  Made from 100% biodegradable cellulose, an extremely solid yet, light material, 'kami' transforms this most abundant natural raw material into objects for daily use by simple air drying.  Ideally tinted in a grey concrete color tone, the ‘kami’ collection is an ideal design object for any contemporary space.
 

Biodegradable cellulose which was used to create the ‘kami’ collection is an organic material which when used for industrial use is obtained from wood pulp and cotton.  Cellulose is the most common organic compound on Earth; mainly used to produce paperboard and paper, and to a smaller extent it is converted into a wide variety of derivative products such as cellophane and rayon.
 

ett la benn participated at the POETRY HAPPENS exhibition which accentuated the experimental ‘making’-oriented cultural path of design.  As every year for the past 50 years, Milan Salone del Mobile is the best place to showcase these original and innovative concepts and researches.  POETRY HAPPENS exhibits genuine, authentic, archetypal projects, prototypes and installations with a narrative design quality.  Poetry as a headline gives every invited designer, architect and artist the freedom of his / her personal approach and interpretation of his / her work related to poetry.  ‘Poetry is what happens when nothing else can.’ Charles Bukowski
 
 

Poetry conveyed in the design world can be translated as the ‘poetry’ of creating by highlighting the individuality of the maker or the inimitable and individual strategy of the creator of an object. The ‘poetry’ of collages merge ready-mades or parts, principles and mechanics of existing ‘everyday’-products into a hybrid object with a new life-cycle that, unlike standard industrial production, show signs of usage. The ‘poetry’ of prototyping: process models, mock-ups and regular prototypes generate the story and evolution of creating – a narrative quality with often a bigger impact than the final product.  The ‘poetry’ of materials and technology experiments is the engine of the constant evolution of design. The history of design would be a blank canvas and nothing than a mere reserved discipline without the quantum enhancement in materials and technologies.
 

The ‘poetry’ of spaces and installations expands the pure object’s existence into space and environments which finally every object has to deal with.
The ‘poetry’ of sustainability begins when design objects tend to achieve an archetypal long lasting quality with a maximal visual continuity: classic pieces and long runners in the market won’t absorb new resources.
 

For all of the above, ett la benn’s work focuses on the design process and implementation of innovative products, furniture, functions and objects for the European furniture market. Within the process they use sustainable solutions such as material selection, production methods, regional networks and regional productions as well as innovative methods for the various markets.  With design as a creative discipline always floating between pure culture and an applied profession that fulfills industrial needs et la benn has managed to accomplish the balance between the two.